Herbst eases pressure on Austrians with slalom crystal globe

REINFRIED Herbst finally gave Austrian alpine skiing fans something to shout about by wrapping up the slalom World Cup crystal globe in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

MUCH-NEEDED WIN: Reinfried Herbst captured to overall slalom World Cup crown to lift some of the gloom surrounding the Austrian men's alpine skiing team

The Austrian finished tenth in the first run and ended up ninth overall in the curtain-closing slalom race in the German resort but courtesy of his four World Cup victories already this season, the 31-year-old topped the overall podium.

Herbst amassed a total of 534 points but he was made to sweat for his victory as France's Julien Lizeroux produced a storming second run in Garmisch to temporarily move into the lead.

With the Frenchman standing in the winner's enclosure, he also had one hand on the slalom crystal globe but there were still eight competitors remaining, ensuring a nervous finale for both Lizeroux and Herbst.

And as Germany's Felix Neureuther romped into the lead with a combined time of 1:43.63 minutes, the crystal globe slipped away from Lizeroux.

Neureuther clung on for victory as Manfred Pranger, the Austrian who led after the first run, could only end up second overall, 0.29 behind the German, who clinched victory on home soil.

"It's been an incredible season for me," said Neurether, who also topped the podium in Kitzbuehel in January.

"It's awesome to win against here and I'm so happy now. To win in Kitzbuehel was a special moment this season and now to win here as well, everything is perfect.

"Next year, we're looking for a good performance from the German team at the World Championships here. Things are going well at the moment and we're going to hammer it down next year."

And that ensured Herbst's total of 534 points was good enough for the overall slalom crown as Lizeroux finished second with 512 and Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland third with 365.

Herbst's victory will alleviate some of the pressure on the men's Austrian alpine skiing team who failed to collect a gold medal at last month's Winter Olympics in Vancouver.